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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24886303">Expectations</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/gann0n/pseuds/gann0n'>gann0n</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, I imagine they’re like college age in this but it’s not really a college AU, I still can’t title things, It is now, catra and adora just need to talk, i am sorry for any medical inaccuracies, i intended for this to be angsty, now with MORE CHAPTERS, okay remember how i said it wasn't angsty, there’s definitely still some angst but it is nowhere near what I had planned</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 00:47:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,649</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24886303</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/gann0n/pseuds/gann0n</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Guess you really can’t hide from who you are.” Catra continued. “Moving doesn’t change that.”</p><p>“Thank you for the psychology lesson, but that still doesn’t explain how you knew—“</p><p>“I’m still your emergency contact, dummy.” Catra said, and for the first time that day something made sense to Adora. </p><p>or,<br/>The universe just has a way of putting the two of them together no matter what.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adora/Catra (She-Ra)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>760</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i like to think i’m original but there’s 4K fics with these two so i apologize if this has already been done</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Something was off about the bed Adora woke up in. She figured she might have been able to detect exactly what it was, if not for the pain throbbing at the side of her head, and a weird beeping noise. She rubbed at her eyes, only to notice one arm hooked up to an IV and as her vision cleared, she saw that everything was way brighter than it needed to be.  The lights were harsh fluorescents, and everything else was a clinical white. </p><p>A hospital, then. The realization didn’t shock her as much as it should have. Her friends often scolded her for her “glaring lack of self-preservation”, especially when it came to other people, and that meant trips to the ER weren’t exactly uncommon. There was one incident that people refused to stop talking about, where she almost drowned at the beach trying to stop a pair of sunglasses from floating out to sea. </p><p>“The glasses are replaceable.” Bow told her after, as she tried not to shiver despite being wrapped in a blanket. “You’re not. Glimmer would rather have you than have some sunglasses.”</p><p>“But now she has both.” Adora said, and Bow made a face that suggested she missed the point. He made that face a lot when they talked about things like this, and it was usually followed up by questions about the orphanage where she spent the first 17 years of her life.</p><p> </p><p>This time, however, Adora couldn’t remember what happened for her to be here, and neither Bow or Glimmer were anywhere to be seen. She closed her eyes, trying with every bit of strength to recall why she was here, but couldn’t focus with the pain. She vaguely remembered  getting into her car, with the express purpose of buying a gift for Bow’s birthday, and then, nothing. </p><p>She let her head hit the pillow and groaned with as much strength as she could muster. At best, she was going to get another earful from Glimmer and Bow. At worst, well… </p><p>Adora didn’t get a chance to finish that as she heard the door opened. She hoped it was a doctor, or anyone who could explain to her what happened, but whatever she was going to say was wiped from her mind as she saw the last person she expected to see here.</p><p>“Catra?”  Adora asked, suddenly aware of how dry her mouth was. She tried to sit up, but the excessive movement caused her nothing but pain, so she gave up and instead stared.</p><p>“Hey, Adora.” Catra drawled. It had been well over a year since they last talked, but from the little bits and pieces Adora was able to gather about Catra, she got the idea that Catra didn’t exactly work a standard 9-5 or have a stable place to live. And yet she was here, in front of Adora like it wasn’t a problem at all, like things hadn’t changed, and it made Adora’s heart ache.</p><p>She watched as Catra sat in the chair next to the bed, and dug around in her backpack until she produced a bag of chips, before opening it and eating a handful loudly. “Geez, Adora.” She said. “How hard did you hit your head? I know you always had a staring problem, but—“</p><p>“How are you here?” Adora asked, and winced at how strained her voice sounded. Catra must have noticed too, because that stupid smirk faded away for just a second. But only for a second, and then it was back in full force she shifted in her chair so she could look Adora in the eye. </p><p>“You make it sound like you don’t want to see me.” Catra said, expertly doing that thing where she didn’t answer the question. Adora was familiar with the tactic.</p><p>“That’s not—of course I wanna see you, Catra.” Adora said. “I’ve wanted to see you since I left.” Which was the truth. Not a day passed where she didn’t regret the way things went down with Catra or daydream about fixing the situation. Someone (was it Bow, Glimmer or her therapist?) told her that was a sign to try and reconnect with Catra. One time, Adora got as close as dialing Catra’s number, but no matter how much she tried to force herself to do it, something prevented her thumb from hitting the call button.</p><p>“Really? Not like you made much of an effort to do that.”</p><p>“It wasn’t like that.“ Adora protested, but Catra only rolled her eyes.</p><p>“Whatever.” Catra said. “That’s not why I’m here.”</p><p>“Then why are you?”</p><p>Catra laughed. “You looked at yourself lately, Adora? You’re the only person I’ve met who’s been in a car accident, but you look like shit even by that standard. They think you fell asleep at the wheel, and when I talked to Sparkles and Arrow Boy, they both agreed that sounded like something that would end up happening to you. Said stuff about you working long hours, like you’ve still got anything left to prove.”</p><p>Adora bit back a snarky response of her own. She forgot how easy it was for Catra to rile her up, and how Catra made a game of it when they were younger.  Nobody got under Adora’s skin like Catra, and it seemed like the time apart hadn’t lessened Catra’s ability to make Adora want to tear out her hair sometimes.</p><p>“Guess you really can’t hide from who you are.” Catra continued. “Moving doesn’t change that.”</p><p>“Thank you for the psychology lesson, but that still doesn’t explain how you knew—“</p><p>“I’m still your emergency contact, dummy.” Catra said, and for the first time that day something made sense to Adora. </p><p>Adora thought about that day, only a few days removed from her 16th birthday, when she wrote Catra’s name and number with zero hesitation. It never occurred to her that she would ever want anyone else to be there, even if Catra teased her about it later.</p><p>“You’re such a sap.” Catra said. “And that was dumb.”</p><p>“Dumb how?”</p><p>“We don’t go anywhere without each other. If you get injured, I’m probably injured too. Or close enough to call someone to begin with. Whatever. That’s a future Catra and Adora problem.” </p><p>And what a problem it turned out to be. Adora found herself blinking back tears as Catra kept talking.</p><p>“The hospital called me, and I got here as quick as I could because I thought you were… anyway, your new best friends will be here soon and you seem normal enough, so I’ll go.”</p><p>“Catra.” Adora said. “Please.” She reached over to grab Catra’s wrist, and got the desired result. Catra went wide-eyed and froze, and if Adora squinted she was sure she could see the faintest hint of a blush on her cheeks. “You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t care.”</p><p>“Yeah.” Catra said, defensive, although her fingers were currently laced with Adora’s own and neither of them made any move to pull away—in fact, Adora noticed Catra’s chair was now as close to the bed as it could get. “So what?”</p><p>“Does that—do you—can we talk?” Adora asked. Her words sounded a lot more eloquent in her head, but between what was definitely a concussion and the way Catra made her tongue tied anyway, she decided to chalk this one up as a success. At least she managed to ask the question that she’d been dying to ask for years.</p><p>“Talk?” Catra echoed. “It’s been how long, Adora? And you want to talk now?”</p><p>“Yes?” Adora said, and Catra did the last thing Adora expected. She laughed. </p><p>Adora laughed with her, not realizing the tears from earlier had spilled over until Catra’s thumbs came up to wipe the tears away, gentler than Adora remembered her touch being.</p><p>“You’re an idiot.” Catra said, with more authority than anything else she’d said that day. Adora would have laughed again if her heart wasn’t going nuts from being so close to Catra again. “But I’m the one who waited until I thought you were dead to come see you, so I guess we’re even. Yeah, we can talk.”</p><p>“Promise?” Adora asked. She was aware she might sound like a child, but growing up, promises were all they had and Catra knew that as well as she did.</p><p>Catra swallowed hard, then nodded. “Promise. But not right now. You need rest, and I don’t wanna be a distraction.” Catra said, getting up.</p><p>“Like I’d be able to stop thinking about you anyway.” Adora said, and Catra went red. </p><p>“Those pain meds they gave you must be kicking in.” Catra said. “And your two obnoxious friends will be here any minute, and I know they’ll fuss over you and ask a million questions about me, so I really should go.”</p><p>“They’re just protective.”</p><p>“Oh, I know.” Catra said. “When I talked to them on the phone, Sparkles made it very clear the only reason she was being so civil was because you were hurt. And Arrow Boy asked if I was “the” Catra, like there’s anyone else on the planet with that name. I can’t imagine what you’ve told them about me.”</p><p>It was Adora’s turn to blush. “Nothing bad.” she said, which wasn’t remotely close to the truth.</p><p>“You’re still an awful liar.” Catra said. Adora didn’t have a comeback for that, so instead she smiled as wide as she could without her face hurting. Catra smiled back.</p><p>And then whatever peace was in the moment shattered when the door flew open again and in came Glimmer and Bow, Bow yelling something in greeting before Glimmer hissed “Bow, she has a concussion. Maybe be a bit quieter?”</p><p>“Sorry.” Bow said. “We were so worried, especially when Catra called—“ he looked around, but Catra was nowhere to be seen, and Adora figured she slipped out when the opportunity presented itself, another thing Catra was fond of doing. “We’re glad you’re okay.”</p><p>“Did things with her go well?” Glimmer asked. “I told her on the phone—well, it was over Instagram first because we didn’t have each other’s information, but that’s not the point. Did she hurt you?”</p><p>“No. Nothing like that. Things went okay.” Adora shrugged, although internally she knew their little talk was all she could have hoped for. “She made me a promise.”</p><p>And if Catra was anything like Adora remembered her being, she was going to keep it.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Catra and Adora still need to talk.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>ask and you shall receive</p><p>but no seriously, i wasn’t expecting that much support for this fic especially considering my last fic didn’t do too well, and it feels really good to wake up and know people want to read my stories </p><p>that being said please enjoy this chapter</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Catra didn’t call for a week. In her defense, she texted and checked in with Adora via social media, but she couldn’t bring herself to pick up the phone and hear Adora’s voice again. Her brain was screaming at her to run away, to go and to leave Adora to stop either of them from getting hurt again, but her heart was telling her something else. She argued with herself, went back and forth and thought about Adora until her head was empty and her chest felt hollow. </p><p>Catra was sure she hadn’t been this confused since high school which was a time period that also prominently featured Adora. She knew since middle school she and Adora weren’t going to have the same high school experience, not when Adora made honor roll and the varsity soccer team while Catra kept a seat warm in detention, but she was still shocked to find out that they wouldn’t be going to the same high school at all, as were all the other kids in the home.  </p><p>But, like always, Adora was a special case and the principal of some fancy high school on the other side of town needed to have her in her school. And it wasn’t that different at first.  Yeah, Adora got up earlier than anyone else, and yeah Shadow Weaver bought Adora a bike so she could make it to class on time. But that surprised no one. Adora was always the favorite. And sure, the days when Adora would leave before Catra got up and came back only an hour before lights-out sucked. To watch the other kids ignore her stung more than she wanted to admit, but it was whatever. At the end of the day, it was going to be her and Adora who walked out of there together. Not Lonnie. Not Rogelio. Certainly not Kyle. </p><p>If only it worked out that way, and things didn’t go to shit when they were both about 17. If—</p><p>Catra shook her head violently, like that was going to force the thoughts out of her head. She wished it were that easy. Since the hospital called her that day, her head was an endless loop of Adora and the past she tried so hard to keep buried away, and so she spent most of the last week hidden away in her room in her shared apartment. Scorpia, to her credit, left her alone minus the occasional paper slipped under her door that was usually a drawing of the two of them together, or a reminder to eat. Catra knew she was curious about what was going on too, and made a mental note to let Scorpia know she wasn’t dying or anything, even if she felt like the wilted potted plant in her room that she kept forgetting to water.</p><p>Catra sighed. She wanted to see Adora, but she didn’t want to talk about why they drifted apart. She wanted things to go back to the way they were before, but her past was buried in a dark place Catra didn’t have any desire to return to. She came close to facing the brunt of it when she got the call from the hospital, in those haunting few seconds where she was convinced Adora hadn’t made it and hated herself for never being big enough to apologize. Then when it turned our Adora was fine, if a little bruised, she didn’t know how to feel. She was relieved Adora was alive, of course. But that didn’t make handling the situation any easier.</p><p>She debated not going back to see Adora at all, even if the thought of leaving things the way they were left a bitter taste in her mouth, because as much as Catra tried, she knew she was no good at talking things out.  Talking hurt. Talking always ended up with someone upset or someone not speaking to her. It clawed at her chest and made her head spin. Besides, she and Adora had hurt each other enough, and Adora was a different person now, someone who didn’t have room for Catra in her life anymore.  Part of her always held out hope that maybe at the end of it all,  they could go back to being the way they were before. But Adora had other friends now, the same people who helped Adora leave the orphanage to begin with. How was she supposed to compare to that?</p><p>Catra was content to lay on her bed and hope staring a hole in the ceiling would magically fix all her problems when her phone rang. She spared a glance at the screen to see Arrow Boy’s name pop up. Typical. One of Adora’s friends would call her right now. She was tempted to answer just to hang up on him, but an annoyingly mature voice in her head nagged at her that something could be wrong with Adora.</p><p>“How can I help you?” Catra asked.</p><p>“Okay, so.” Bow took a deep breath. “It’s nothing serious.  Well, not medically, anyway.  I—we think you should come see Adora. She’s still recovering, but she  won’t talk to us, and—“</p><p>“She’s doing that thing where she pretends she’s okay because she doesn’t want to worry you, but she’s clearly upset?” Catra guessed. “Saying she’s fine but walking around pouting like a five year old who got their animal crackers taken away?”</p><p>“Uh, yeah. That’s it exactly.”</p><p>Catra laughed. She was about to fire off another question about Adora’s disposition when Bow yelped like he’d burned himself. </p><p>“Gotta go, bye!” He said quickly, but not quick enough. Catra heard rustling and a muffled protest as the phone changed hands. </p><p>“I told you not to, Bow! We have to let them figure it out on their own!”</p><p>Catra coughed. </p><p>“Listen.” Glimmer said, and it was clear by the shift in her tone she was addressing Catra. The contempt in her voice almost made Catra homesick.“I don’t know what you did to hurt Adora before, but don’t come over here unless you’re going to keep whatever promise you made her.”</p><p>I’m not scared of you, Catra wanted to say, but she bit her tongue. That wasn’t what this was about. Despite Catra’s gut feeling that Glimmer was all sparkles and no bite, she opted not to antagonize her. She doubted Adora would appreciate that.</p><p>“Yeah. Fine. Whatever.” Catra said, hoping her voice didn’t make it obvious how much she doubted Glimmer would do anything besides scowl at her. “If that’s all—“</p><p>“Personally,” Glimmer continued, then launched into her next sentence before Catra could tell her she didn’t care about her personal opinion. “I think it doesn’t make any sense. What good is a promise if you can’t be trusted to keep it?”</p><p> </p><p>It was incredible the way one comment could rile Catra up. Maybe it came from years in an orphanage with children who could be just as cruel as they could be kind. Maybe it was just in Catra’s nature. Or maybe it was because of Adora. Catra would have been impressed at Glimmer’s ability to piss someone off so quickly if Catra hadn't been the someone in question.</p><p>“What’s your address?” Catra asked, getting out of bed and searching for something to wear. </p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Your address, Sparkles. Unless you live in a treehouse or something.” Catra repeated. </p><p>“Are you—don’t come here just because Bow said so!” Glimmer protested. Catra heard what sounded like a whoop of approval from Bow in the background, and then Glimmer telling him to quiet down.</p><p>“I’m coming there for Adora.” Catra said. “You being angry about it is just an added bonus.”</p><p>She hung up while Glimmer was in the middle of an almost impressive shout of annoyance, smiling to herself. Adora’s friends were still annoying, but Catra could admit their prodding (well, Bow’s prodding) was enough to get her to remember that she had in fact made Adora a promise that she intended to keep.</p><p> </p><p>               ————————</p><p>Glimmer answered the door scowling. Catra pretended she didn’t see Adora peeking out from a corner and then diving back into cover when Catra glanced in her direction, and handed Glimmer a gift.</p><p>“Is that a houseplant?” Glimmer asked, and it was all worth it to see her go from angry to bewildered in a matter of seconds as she eyed the plant.</p><p>“Yep. Call it a housewarming gift.” Catra said, and stepped into the apartment.</p><p>“We moved here two years ago.” Glimmer said. </p><p>“It’s a really late housewarming gift.” Catra said.</p><p>“It’s half-dead.” Glimmer said, staring at the poor plant.</p><p>“It’s a hands-on project. You’re welcome.” Catra said. “Where’s—“</p><p>“Here.” Adora said, and Catra jumped at the sound of her voice. Turning to face her, Catra realized in the time that passed Adora had grown enough to be taller than her and tried to ignore that.</p><p>“You look considerably less like shit.” Catra said. The bruises on her arm and face were gone for the most part, minus a yellowing crescent under her eye. Catra recalled brushing tears away from Adora’s face only a week ago and flushed red.</p><p>Adora beamed at her. Catra didn’t as much see as she felt Glimmer roll her eyes. </p><p>“Bed rest will do that to you.” Adora said. </p><p>“Not that she listened to us.” Glimmer said from behind the plant. Catra wondered why she didn’t put it down. “She was trying to do push-ups the day she got home.”</p><p>“Routine is key to a healthy lifestyle.” Adora said, her face red. </p><p>“You know what else is key to a healthy lifestyle? Not getting in a car accident!” Glimmer countered. </p><p>“Shh!” Adora said, a finger to her lips like Catra wasn’t the first person to know about the accident. Catra chuckled to herself. “Also, we were going to watch a movie, so…” </p><p>This was news to Catra, but she pictured Glimmer’s irritated face behind the plant and decided to play along. </p><p>“Yeah. Traumatized and orphaned kids only. Very serious business.” Catra said.</p><p>Adora snorted. </p><p>“Fine.” Glimmer said. “I’ll go find a place for this plant even though I doubt it’ll survive the night. Adora, please make good decisions.”</p><p>“Good decisions. I can do that. You know me. Adora, good decision maker.” Adora said, complete with finger guns that she kept pointed at Glimmer until she left. Catra wanted to howl with laughter, but Adora looked nervous, and that made Catra nervous. </p><p>She started to see why Adora looked that way when she led Catra past the living room and into her room. Catra raised an eyebrow, and Adora blushed again.</p><p>“You said you wanted to talk. I, uh, figured this was more private than Bow being Bow and Glimmer glaring daggers at you.” Adora said.</p><p>“Right.” Catra said, sitting at the edge of Adora’s bed. Adora remained standing. “I meant to ask about that. Are you and Sparkles, you know…”</p><p>If it was possible, Adora got even redder. “What? No! Why would you think that?”</p><p>“Every interaction with her has been confrontational at best. I don’t know what you told them about me, but she doesn’t like me very much.”</p><p>Adora waved a dismissive hand. “That’s just how Glimmer is. She was like that in high school, too. One time, this girl asked Bow to homecoming—as a friend, right—and she was the same way. Don’t let it bother you.” </p><p>Catra scoffed. “I’m not letting anyone named Glimmer and who has purple hair bother me.” </p><p>“There’s that biting Catra wit I’ve been dying to hear.” Adora said, sitting down next to her. Their legs touched. Catra tried not to think about it. “I missed you.” </p><p>Catra tried really hard not to think about it.  She looked up, ready to come up with something that would make her laugh so she didn’t have to face this, but when she saw Adora looking right back at her with those bright eyes, her resolve crumbled faster than their friendship had. </p><p>“I missed you, too.” Catra admitted. “I missed you more than I thought I could miss anybody.”</p><p>Catra heard the little hitch in Adora’s breathing before being pulled into a hug. </p><p>“Oh, Catra.” Adora said, tears welling in her eyes.  “I went over this conversation a thousand times in my head, and in none of those scenarios did you say “I miss you” back. I guess the time apart can change people.”</p><p>“You think so?”</p><p>“Yeah.” Adora said, hugging her tighter. “The Catra I knew would rather die than admit she missed someone.”</p><p>“Hmm.” Catra said. “If you’re going to make a big deal about it, is dying still an option?”</p><p>“Shut up.” Adora said. “No. It’s not. I just got you back. No dying. We still have a lot to talk about.”</p><p>Catra stiffened at that, but Adora kept her locked in the embrace, which was nice. Catra couldn’t remember the last time she’d been hugged like this. Probably not since Adora left. </p><p>“It’s okay.” Adora said. “I know admitting you missed me—“ she giggled as if she couldn’t believe it— “Is a big step for you. We don’t have to talk about it all tonight. We have time. We could watch that movie.”</p><p>“Yeah.” Catra said. “We could.” </p><p> </p><p>They don’t talk about it, even after Catra coming over becomes a weekly event. They try, to be fair, but after a few nights, Catra was a goner, lost to the quiet intimacy of being with your best friend after all those years. They couldn’t find a way to talk about it, and yet they ended up cuddled together with Adora’s arms around her shoulder and Catra wanted to cry at how easy it was to fall back to being affectionate with her. </p><p> </p><p>Not wanting to risk the fragile comfort of those moments, Catra did not say a word about what they needed to talk about. She laughed when the movies were funny, teased Adora for tearing up after seeing cute animals, and picked popcorn out of her teeth in the obnoxious way she knew Adora hated just to hear her scold Catra the same way she always had.</p><p>Adora didn’t seem to be in a rush to talk about it either, so why should Catra be the one to open old wounds?</p><p>It was fine. They were fine.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>*narrator voice* they were not fine</p><p> </p><p>if you have any general questions (or requests), talk to me on tumblr: saturdaybandit</p><p>also, peep the chapters 👀<br/>this was supposed to be one chapter but it got away from me so<br/>i’ll try to have chapter 3 out within a week</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>all i can say is that i'm productive at the worst times<br/>and i hope their argument is in character<br/>also please read the end notes</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Three weeks after that night Scorpia got to see Adora and Catra’s “relationship” first hand, and as Catra expected, Scorpia had something to say about it. It was why she tried to avoid this exact thing from happening, but was Catra supposed to say no when Adora texted and asked to come over? And then she thought, foolishly, that since Scorpia knew who Adora was that any commentary she might have would be minimal.</p><p>Wrong again. What else did Catra think was going to happen?</p><p>Although the “serious talk” everyone said they needed to have continued to elude Catra and Adora, there were several other, much smaller talks in the meantime. One of them was about physical contact and they’d both said they would say something if they were uncomfortable. So far, Catra had gathered the following information: that It was somehow both easier and more difficult than she’d anticipated to have Adora constantly around again. Hugs were a big thing. Catra was no stranger to them— you couldn’t be, not when your roommate was a self-proclaimed hugger—and even found out that she could enjoy them sometimes, after having a similar talk about it with Scorpia. But a few months of slightly awkward hugs did nothing to prepare her for what it felt like to be in Adora’s arms again. </p><p>They hugged a lot as kids. The days when Shadow Weaver was more cruel than usual, Adora just seemed to know Catra needed a hug. As they got older, they hugged less. Catra remembered them hugging after she came out. She remembered Adora hugging her after she told Catra they would be going to different high schools. A week after that, Adora hugged her and insisted that wasn’t going to change anything, and then she was gone the next month. That always made Catra stiffen up, and that was the problem with not talking about it. </p><p>Catra knew it was unavoidable if she wanted to have Adora back in her life full-time. She knew it wasn’t fair to either of them to not tell Adora how she really felt, and wondered in the back of her mind if things would be different had she been honest all those years ago. Catra knew all of this would be temporary unless they talked. But wasn’t there a chance they would be temporary anyway? She didn’t think Adora would stop talking to her out of nowhere, not now, but she didn’t think they would ever talk again either, so Adora leaving again was well within the realm of possibility.</p><p>The bottom line was that a difficult conversation needed to happen. But Catra felt the same way about it as she felt when Adora told her she was leaving. She was scared. She was terrified of all the unknowns lurking in the background, and Catra wanted to not be the person who ruined everything. Just once, she didn’t want to be the fuck-up.</p><p>But, she could admit she and Adora looked a bit… cozy when Scorpia came in. She had her head on Adora’s shoulder, pretending to watch whatever was on, as Adora ran the hand not defending the remote with an iron grip through Catra’s hair and muttered something about how cool it would be to have a giant sword. Catra had become so used to this routine with Adora it took her a few seconds to recognize why Scorpia looked all wide-eyed when she came in, and it only really hit Catra when Scorpia cleared her throat in the most suspicious way possible and asked to talk to Catra in the kitchen.</p><p>“Good luck.” Adora said as Catra got up, and Catra stuck her tongue out at her as a reflex, fighting a smile when Adora laughed in response.</p><p>“Did you two talk? Tell me you two talked.” Scorpia asked the second Catra set foot in the kitchen. “If not, I think you two should talk.” </p><p>Catra wanted to ask why Scorpia insisted on talking here. At the farthest corner of the kitchen, Adora might not have been able to hear them, but she could most certainly glance over to look at them.  Catra dared to take a look herself, and was met with the sight of Adora taking the two straws from their sodas and sticking them in her mouth like walrus tusks, and the smile she’d been fighting won. </p><p>What an idiot, she thought. The swell of affection in her chest when it came to Adora was familiar, even if she hadn’t felt it in a long time. The difference was she knew what it meant now.</p><p> She turned to see Scorpia looking at her. Catra fought the urge to cross her arms over her chest, a bit embarrassed at being caught looking at Adora. “No, Scorpia. We haven’t. I don’t want to rush it—“</p><p>“There’s waiting for the right time, and then there’s never doing it.” Scorpia said, gentle. “Do you remember what you told me after you got that call from the hospital? You said you’d lost the chance to talk to her, forever. To apologize. And that was before all the…” she gestured wildly,“Canoodling.” she decided.</p><p>“We do not canoodle.” Catra said, sharper than intended. Scorpia put her hands up in surrender.</p><p>“Okay. I apologize for my misuse of the word canoodle. Will file that under words to not use. But I still think you need to have that talk. You thought you lost the chance to speak to her forever. And now you have the chance to be with her. You just need to ask.” Scorpia said. “And that means dealing with the big scary talk before it’s too late.”</p><p>Catra stared at the floor. “Do they teach wisdom in orientation or something?”</p><p>“You would know if you went.” Scorpia laughed for a second, before looking serious again. “I’m not saying it has to be tonight. But putting it off—”</p><p>“Makes it worse for everybody.” Catra mumbled. “Yeah. I know.” </p><p>“Do you want a hug?” Scorpia asked. “I like to think I’m getting better at the talking thing, but we all know that—“</p><p>“You’re a hugger.” Catra finished. “I think Adora knows that now, too.” </p><p>Scorpia looked sheepish. The first time she and Adora met, Scorpia scooped her up into a hug, before placing her back down and asking rapid-fire questions about Adora’s workout regimen. To her credit, Adora answered all of them with an equal level of enthusiasm while Catra had sighed in the corner.</p><p>“In my defense,” Scorpia said, but Catra shushed her. Scorpia talking about Adora being “deceptively muscular” wasn’t going to help her think straight right now.    </p><p>“It’s okay, Scorpia. And I think I’ll pass on that hug, but, thanks. For offering. And for, you know.” She nodded in Adora’s general direction.”</p><p>“Any time.” Scorpia said, and then for whatever reason, she saluted before going into her room. Catra was glad Scorpia closed her door, because she had no idea what an appropriate response to that was. </p><p>She found she also had no idea how to bring up that she and Adora needed to talk. They’d spent almost a month skirting around the issue, and now Catra was going to throw it out there unprompted, despite a voice in her head that sounded like Shadow Weaver telling her she was making a mistake.  She walked back into the living room. </p><p>“Hey.” Adora said. “How was your super secret roomie talk? Bow and Glimmer have those sometimes too.”</p><p>Catra eyed the spot next to Adora, opposite where she was sitting before. It would be so easy to leap over, grab the remote, and let the ensuing “argument” about what to watch dictate their whole night. But Catra didn’t do that. Instead, she sat down and tried to find her words. </p><p>“Catra?” Adora asked. “What’s wrong?”</p><p>“I. Uh.” Catra said. “I think we need to talk.”</p><p>“Okay.” Adora said, like it was just that easy. She reached over to pick up the remote and paused the TV. “About what?”</p><p>About how you left me, the voice in her head filled in. Catra ignored it.</p><p>“About everything.”</p><p>“Oh. Okay. We’re having that talk now?” Adora asked.</p><p>“Now seems like a good time.” Catra said. “Unless you had other plans?” Her tone was more snide than she wanted it to be, and she saw Adora’s eye twitch in irritation. </p><p>Catra bristled. “I’m sorry, was I being childish to you?”</p><p>“I mean.” Adora said. “Deciding we have to talk about it right now because you want to talk about it doesn’t strike me as particularly mature.” she sighed, rubbing her temples. “I’m sorry. That was mean. I just don’t think I can talk about it right now.” </p><p>Once again, Catra realized how quickly her emotions could become compromised when Adora was involved as she felt tears welling in her eyes-- from embarrassment? From anger? She didn’t know. </p><p>“Right.” Catra said. “Of course. How stupid of me to bring it up.”</p><p>“Don’t be like that, Catra.” Adora said. She went to reach for Catra’s arm but Catra recoiled like Adora’s touch was red-hot, ignoring the hurt that flashed in Adora’s eyes. “I’m not saying we don’t need to talk. But not right now.”</p><p>“Sure.” Catra said. “Fine. We’ll do what Adora wants. What else is new?”</p><p>It was a cheap shot and Catra knew it.</p><p>“That’s not fair.” Adora said, immediately, springing up from her seat like she’d been shot. “And you know it isn’t. I tried to bring it up before, and you shut me down. Then I thought, okay. She’ll talk when she’s ready. And I’m happy you’re ready now.”</p><p>“Yeah, because that’s the vibe I’m getting with you pointing your finger in my face.” Catra said. Adora’s face softened for a second, before continuing. </p><p>“I am, Catra.” she said, so sincere it made Catra’s anger falter. “This isn’t easy. And I thought the extra time would be good for me. For us. But I’ve been waiting and waiting for the right thing to come to me, and now after all that, I still don’t know what I’m supposed to say.”</p><p>Adora took a deep breath.</p><p>“I’m not sorry I got out of there. But I am sorry about how things went down, and I mean it when I say I would give anything to change what happened. And I’m sorry I didn’t say goodbye. But I begged you to come with me.” Adora said.“Over and over again, I asked, I pleaded, I—”</p><p>“I didn’t have options like you did, Adora! If running away didn’t work out, you knew Shadow Weaver would forgive you. And on the off chance that she didn’t, you had scholarships. You could have gone anywhere. So excuse me if I didn’t put my tail between my legs and trail after you like a damn kitten who couldn’t make their own fucking way!” Catra yelled. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t ever going to be good enough for your perfect new friends.”</p><p>It was everything she did and didn’t want to tell Adora over the years. There were words Catra had been thinking about for years and words that spilled out only now. Catra’s filter disappeared like it always did when she got angry, and she waited for the inevitable, terrible consequence for speaking her mind.</p><p>Adora was silent. A part of Catra wished she hadn’t turned off the TV, because there was nothing to distract from the sad realization in Adora’s eyes.</p><p>“I don’t think it’s only me you’re mad at, Catra.” Adora said. “And I’m not saying you can’t be mad at me. It’s okay if you are. I get it. But I think you need to figure out what else you’re upset about. And maybe then we can...” she trailed off, not able to finish her sentence.</p><p>Catra’s throat burned with the effort of trying not to cry. </p><p>“I think you should leave, Adora.” she said.</p><p>Adora didn’t flinch. Catra figured Adora was expecting to hear something like that come from Catra eventually.</p><p>“Okay.” Adora said. She started toward the door, then hesitated. She walked back to Catra in long strides and for a brief moment, Catra wondered if she was going to stay. Instead, she placed a gentle kiss on Catra’s forehead.</p><p>“Take care of yourself.” she said, and was gone. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Scorpia found her crying on the kitchen floor an hour later.</p><p>“I take it your talk didn’t go well?”</p><p> </p><p>Catra sniffled, knowing there was no damn way Scorpia didn’t hear all the yelling. </p><p> </p><p>“I’d like to cash in on that hug now, if that’s okay.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>me when they were still arguing 2k words in and i realized i was going to have to make this into another part: :O</p><p>in all seriousness, i sat down and wrote more than i expected and i didn't want one chapter to be twice as long as the others so now we're getting another chapter. i actually feel really bad that this ended up being a seperate chapter (maybe because it's sad) but on a happier note the last chapter (for real this time) should be up soon</p><p>once again i'm sorry to have to add another chapter</p><p>tumblr: saturdaybandit</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>They finally talk.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>me: i like all my chapters to be around the same length<br/>also me: *writes a 3.4k word chapter*</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Glimmer, of all people, was the one to message Catra first. Catra thought that was hysterical, considering she’d thought about blocking anyone associated with Adora but forgotten about it after a tub of ice cream. But as Catra blearily stared at her phone, wiping sleep from her eyes, a notification from Sparkles herself lit up her screen.  Catra read it once, then sat up on the couch and read it again to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. She wasn’t. Glimmer was calling her—at 3 in the morning. Catra’s heart started to race. Was something wrong with Adora? She knew Glimmer would rather die than call Catra, and that was before she’d fucked everything up. Why else would she call now?</span>
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  <span>“Hello?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Told you.” Glimmer said. Catra heard someone make an exasperated noise in the background. She sounded smug, but also drunk as fuck. “And as for you. I knew you still cared.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra ignored that last part. “Why are you calling me? Is Adora with you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No.” Glimmer said. “I wouldn’t have called if she was, because for some reason, Bow is only now recognizing my genius advice and says we can’t force you two to talk to each other. He said nothing about gently nudging you two in the same direction, though.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes.” Bow said, suddenly close enough that Catra could hear him clearly. “I said a gentle nudge was okay. Not a shove into shark-infested waters.”</span>
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  <span>“Come on, she’s not that bad.” Glimmer said, dragging out the a in that.</span>
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  <span>Catra tried not to laugh. Bow sighed, and Catra knew from the way his voice sounded that he was facepalming. “I wasn’t talking about—never mind. We’re sorry to bother you, Catra. Have a nice night. Or morning, I guess.”</span>
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  <span>“Wait.” Catra said, and took a deep breath as she prepared herself to ask what she’d been wondering for almost two weeks now. “How is she?”</span>
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  <span>For a second, there was no sound at all, and Catra was ready to assume Bow had hung up on her, not that she would blame him. Adora wasn’t talking to her, so it made sense if her new friends wanted nothing to do with Catra either. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Adora is...” Bow exhaled. “You know how she is. First glance you would think she’s fine even with her carrying the entire world on her back, and second glance she might convince you it’s all okay, but if I had to wager a guess, I’d say she’s not doing great. Better than that first day, I think. But that’s about it.’</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra nodded, and then remembered  Bow couldn’t see her. “Right. Okay. Thanks for the update. I appreciate it.” Her finger hovered above the end call button, hesitating for a second as she thought about asking Bow another question concerning Adora. Bow and Glimmer didn’t tease her about it like she anticipated, so there was no front to put up anymore. The brief pause as she considered her options allowed Catra to hear something she wasn’t expecting, and that was Bow laughing quietly to himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra tried not to sound too defensive when she asked, “What’s so funny?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing. I’m sorry. I was assuming—based on what Adora told us about you, I was waiting for you to throw in a “It’s not because I care or anything”  at the end there.” Bow explained, and Catra found herself chuckling with him.</span>
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  <span>“She would tell you that.” Catra said.</span>
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  <span>“And you do care.” Bow said. “That much is obvious.”</span>
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  <span>Was it? Catra knew she didn’t act like she cared when she kicked Adora out of the apartment that night, or when she ignored the text Adora sent her the next morning. But the empty pang in her chest and the way she couldn’t stop thinking about Adora said something different. Things were already complicated without her admitting she missed Adora, even if it was “painfully” obvious like Scorpia said. What if it turned out Adora didn’t miss her as much as Catra did, or didn’t miss her at all? What if Adora wasn’t avoiding her, but trying to avoid making things awkward?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bow cleared his throat, and Catra was made aware of the fact that she hadn’t said anything for a few seconds. </span>
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  <span>“Listen.” Bow said. “I know we don’t know each other all that well, but Glimmer and I hope you and Adora can fix things up.”</span>
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  <span>“You do?”</span>
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  <span>“Yeah. Maybe the two of you aren’t in the best spot right now, but the happiest I’ve ever seen her is when she was with you or talking about you.  Things might not be able to go back to the way they were before, but I know Adora still wants you in her life. I don’t think she ever wanted you out of it, to be honest.”</span>
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  <span>“No.” Catra said. She ignored the way her chest tightened at the implication Adora spent years caring about her. “After what I did, I doubt she could want me. You’re right that you don’t know me. All I do is fuck things up. I did it in high school, then I got another chance with Adora, and I fucked that up, too.”</span>
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  <span>“You know who you sound like? Adora. When we first met her, she always shouldered the blame, and put all of herself into everything she did, no matter how much it burned her out. Any mistake or failure was damn near catastrophic. And I guarantee you she’s in her room right now thinking the same way you are, that there’s no way you want to see her anymore, but you wouldn’t be asking about her if that was the case. You said you mess things up? That might be true. But you’ve got a chance to do things different this time. You can fix this.”</span>
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  <span>“That was beautiful, Bow.” She heard Glimmer say, sounding surprisingly sober.</span>
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  <span>“Yeah.” Catra agreed. “Didn’t think a guy named after a weapon would have such a way with words.”</span>
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  <span>“I try.” Bow said. “Now, I should really get Glimmer to bed before she does something regrettable like last time—”</span>
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  <span>“Bye, Catra!” Glimmer yelled, and the call ended. </span>
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  <span>Catra laid back down with the intention of trying to figure out her best course of action in the morning, but hopes of sleep were dashed when her phone started going off with texts from Glimmer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>adora’s annoying rich friend</b>
</p><p>
  <span>bow gave me my phone back</span>
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  <span>you should talk to adora </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>i’m serious </span>
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  <span>Catra watched as the next messages rolled in, one right after the other.</span>
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  <span>i know bow told you most of this but </span>
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  <span>she’s been miserable </span>
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  <span>and not in the normal way</span>
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  <span>you didn’t hear it from me but she’s happier with you </span>
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  <span>and despite what she’s told us I think you both genuinely deserve a chance to be happy </span>
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  <span>so if you two could figure it out that would be great for everyone else involved </span>
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  <span>mostly for us 3 because i know you don't like seeing her sad either </span>
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  <span>I’m surprised you can spell genuinely when you’re this wasted, Catra replied. Moments later, her phone buzzed with a single text this time.</span>
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  <b>adora’s annoying rich friend</b>
</p><p>
  <span>fuck off</span>
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  <span>Catra laughed her first real laugh in two weeks. </span>
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  <span>Later that night as sleep continued to evade her, Catra tried to use her time to  attempt to sort out how she was feeling. Getting a vote of confidence from Adora’s new friends didn’t give Catra the smug satisfaction she thought it would, probably because she was still thinking about Adora. According to her friends, Adora was taking this just as hard as Catra was, which meant she might be open to talk. But besides the one text message, Catra hadn’t heard anything at all from Adora. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra thought about how Adora was growing up, how she was selfless and ready to drop whatever she was doing if it meant she was helping, and how that meant Adora didn’t have much experience doing things for herself. It was frustrating to witness back then, and it was frustrating to see now. Was it that Adora didn’t want to reach out? Or did she not know how? </span>
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  <span>Catra decided it didn’t matter. This wasn’t all about Adora. It was about Catra trying to fix her mistakes for once. Adora had her reasons, and now Catra had her own.</span>
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  <span>    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span>
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  <span>Reaching out was harder than Catra wanted to admit. She saw why Adora sent one text and only one text, because Catra felt like she was bearing her soul to the universe when she sent Adora a message late the next morning asking if they could talk. Catra didn’t expect a response anytime soon so when the little ding! sounded from her phone only a few minutes later, she almost dropped her coffee.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sure, Adora’s response read. Your place? I can be there in two hours.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra felt like her heart was in her throat as she shakily typed out her agreement, then resisted the urge to throw her phone across the room and yell out of fear of the unknown. She was able to get her hands to stop trembling and her breathing under control, but Scorpia still found her pacing around the kitchen ten minutes before Adora was supposed to be there.</span>
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  <span>“Oh.” Scorpia said when she saw her. “Is today the “big talk” day? Is that why you look like you’re going to throw up on my shoes?”</span>
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  <span>“Yes and yes.” Catra said. “But not the big talk you’re thinking about. I asked Adora to come here so I could say sorry. I didn’t want to leave things the way they were, so.” she sighed. “It’s time to try to fix this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Scorpia gasped and covered her mouth, her eyes shining in that signature way that told Catra she was about to get wrapped up in a hug. Sure enough, she felt herself being scooped up into an embrace that was so tight she told Scorpia she couldn’t breathe.</span>
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  <span>“Sorry.” Scorpia said, setting her back down. “But this is… this is a lot for you.” she smiled. “I hope Adora sees how much she means to you.”</span>
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  <span>Catra blushed. “I hope she does too.” Before she could say anything else, the doorbell rang. Catra was confused as to why Adora didn’t text her, but that thought was gone as soon as her brain recognized that Adora was here. Right now. And they needed to have what was likely the biggest talk of Catra’s life.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You got this.” Scorpia encouraged. She took a step forward like she was going to hug Catra again, but didn’t. “Good luck.” She gave Catra a wink so exaggerated that Catra almost snorted, before ducking into her room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra took a deep breath as she stood in front of the door, mentally bracing herself. When she did finally open the door, she was met with the sight of a remarkably calm looking Adora.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Adora.” Catra said. “I, um, I’m glad you’re here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora smiled.</span>
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  <span>“I am too.” She said, as Catra stepped away to let her inside, and then flopped on the couch and let out a sigh. “I didn’t think you were going to text me.” she continued, and it sounded like a confession. “I didn’t think you wanted anything to do with me anymore, and it was somehow worse going through that a second time. I missed you, Catra. I missed you the whole time. And I realized how dumb it would be to let something like a talk stop us from being in each other’s lives. I’m here now. And if you want me, I’m not going anywhere. Not without you.”</span>
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  <span>Catra stopped dead in her tracks, her heart thudding away in her chest. These were the words high school Catra wanted more than anything to hear come from Adora. This was what Catra hoped with all her might that Adora would say the night she left and then didn’t even get a goodbye.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Leave it to Adora to say something that meaningful and then smile like an idiot.</span>
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  <span>Catra sat down next to her, the cushion shifting as Adora turned to look her in the eye, that same nervous smile on her face. “Adora, you were right to leave. And about a lot of other things.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Catra.” Adora said, but Catra held up a hand and Adora didn’t say anything else.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just let me finish. Please.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora nodded, and Catra pressed on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was mad at you, yeah. But I think I was mostly angry with myself. I thought you were leaving me for your fancy rich friends. The more you talked about it, the more it felt like the “perfect place” you kept talking about was a place without me. I couldn’t compare to your new shiny friends.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Saying it out loud allowed Catra to come face to face with the truth she’d kept buried in that same dark place. She knew they didn’t grow up in the best of circumstances and she didn’t blame Adora for wanting to leave, not really, but back then it felt a lot like Adora wasn’t leaving the orphanage as much as she was leaving Catra. It seemed almost silly now, with Adora saying she wanted Catra to be in her life, and Catra was left to wonder what would have been if they’d just talked things out before Adora left.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It wasn’t about that.” Adora objected. “It wasn’t like that at all. I promise. I wouldn’t do that to you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra managed a small smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know. I know that now. But all I could think about was how they gave you the chance to get away and do the things you actually wanted to do, while I couldn’t even stand up to Shadow Weaver. And it fucking sucked.” her voice cracked and Catra distantly realized she was crying. Adora noticed too, and reached out to hug Catra and then froze with her arms hovering, uncertain, at Catra’s sides. Catra sniffled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Just hug me, Adora. You look ridiculous with your arms like that.” she said, and Adora paused for a millisecond before Catra found herself being squeezed by a very familiar pair of arms.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You were—are so much more than that, Catra.” Adora said, soft. “And I wish I hadn't assumed, and that I would have told you when you needed to hear it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No apologizing.” Catra said. “Not when the way things went down was mostly my fault.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Catra, please don’t blame yourself for something I did years ago.” Adora said, firmly, placing a hand on Catra’s shoulder. “It was high school. We were just dumb high schoolers who didn’t know what we wanted.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No.” Catra said, shaking her head. “I knew what I wanted. What I always wanted. I was just too scared to even let myself imagine it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Always wanted?” Adora asked, confused. “There was something you always wanted that you didn’t tell me about?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, dummy. You.” </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Catra hadn’t ever envisioned confessing her feelings for Adora at any point, but in any hypothetical scenario she could come up with, it didn’t go like this. She wasn’t the romantic type, but telling your ex-best friend who you thought was dead after they abandoned you that you were in love with them while insulting them seemed a bit underwhelming.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora didn’t seem to think so, though. Her eyes went so wide it would have been comical if it wasn’t Catra she was looking at. For an impossibly long few seconds, Catra waited for Adora’s face to fall the way it always did when she delivered bad news (or what she thought was bad news), but it didn’t happen. Catra saw the edges of Adora’s lips tug upwards into a goofy grin Catra hadn’t seen in years. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Catra, I—can I kiss you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” Catra said, on reflex, not missing the way Adora’s smile dimmed a bit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t want me to kiss you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, no. I do.” Catra clarified with a bit more force than necessary. She could tell by the way the grin came back in full on Adora’s face. “I just didn’t think that was going to be your reaction.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora laughed. “What did you think I was going to do?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra shrugged. “I don’t know. Pat my shoulder in a reassuring but still slightly awkward way and tell me sorry, but that you’re dating Sparkles, or something.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait.” Adora said. “Wait a minute. You thought I was dating Glimmer?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I thought it was a possibility!” Catra defended, feeling her face go red. “Shut up. It’s not my fault girls flock to you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Glimmer is going to lose her mind when I tell her.” Adora said, smirking. Not for the first time, Catra looked at Adora and wished she could kiss the smug look off of her face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wait a minute, Catra realized. I can. I can do that now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>The thought made Catra more giddy than she knew how to process, so instead of overthinking it, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to Adora’s while Adora was still busy grinning like she won the lottery.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora made a surprised noise  when their lips touched but then responded back in kind, and it was everything high school Catra and adult Catra alike dreamed of. Not that she would admit that to Adora. There weren’t enough kisses in the world to bring Adora down from how smug she’d be if she found that out. When they parted, Adora remained close enough that their foreheads were still touching and let out the dorkiest giggle ever. Catra couldn’t believe this was the same Adora who many people saw as some super cool athlete.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wow.” Adora said, somehow managing to get dorkier. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can we—” Catra was cut off as Adora kissed her again, and she smiled wider. “Can we promise to talk things out from now on? Because now all I can think about is how much easier this would have been if we sat down and talked.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“God, I know, right?” Adora said. “I promise. Let’s talk things out from now on. Wow, I sound like Bow.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, right.” Catra said, moving so that her head was resting on Adora’s shoulder. “I guess I owe your new friends a thank-you. They’re the ones that made me realize how much I needed to talk to you.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Adora didn’t say anything at first, and Catra looked up in alarm when Adora’s breathing hitched and saw Adora’s eyes were threatening to spill over with tears. Catra was about to ask what was wrong when Adora said “They’re gonna be your friends, too!”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Oh, god.” Catra said. “What did I get myself into now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bow got us custom made sweaters last Christmas. I wonder if he can get one made for you before then. Oh, this is going to be so great. We have board game nights, and D&amp;D nights, and Glimmer and Bow bake on the weekends, but I’m not allowed to after last time. Maybe you can, though. You guys can have matching aprons!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra blinked. “What happened last time?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing important. Fine.” Adora said, after Catra gave her a look. “I ate all the cookie dough and almost set the kitchen on fire. And then Bow burned the second batch of cookies because he was worried I was going to get salmonella.”</span>
  <span>
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  </span>
  <span>
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  </span>
  <span>“Noted.” Catra said. “Let’s just stick with movie night for now, then.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Works for me.” Adora said. “Do you want to watch one now? I sort of cleared my schedule for today after you texted me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra shook her head. “You’re such a nerd.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Adora was snoring before the opening credits were over. Catra didn’t mind, although she did hope Adora didn’t drool on her.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Scorpia came barrelling around the corner, skidding to a stop when she saw Adora was asleep in an attempt to be quiet. She didn’t need to— Adora slept like the dead, but Scorpia had no way of knowing that. She gestured to the sleeping Adora, questions written all over her face and Catra tried to sum everything up the best she could, and gave Scorpia a thumbs-up. It wasn’t the most detailed explanation in the world, but it was enough for now, and Scorpia seemed to get the idea if the way her face lit up was any indication.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Catra was going to get asked a million questions later, but she didn’t let that bother her. She and Adora were—well they weren’t perfect. But they were getting better. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>writing this was truly an adventure. i was hesitant to post anything after my other story didn't do as well as i wanted, but this idea wouldn't leave me alone so i decided to post it anyway, and i couldn't have anticipated the response i would get. it was heartwarming, and it really means a lot to me that people left kudos and comments on this story. it makes me happier than you can imagine to know people want to read what i want to write.</p><p>mushy shit aside, thank you for reading</p><p>not sure when or what the next fic will be. if you have an ideas or requests (or if you wanna yell about gay shit with me), my tumblr is saturdaybandit</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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